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Seeking to secure a commanding lead, Barcelona welcomed Galatasaray to the Camp Nou in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 tie on Thursday night. Unfortunately for the Catalan outfit, they failed to produce their best football against the Turkish giants and were held to a goalless draw in their backyard.
Barcelona coach Xavi opted for an aggressive lineup against the Super Lig club, leaving Sergio Busquets on the bench and bringing in Nico Gonzalez. As expected, the hosts started dominating proceedings from the start and looked effortless on the ball. They pegged Galatasaray back, but could not find the final defense-piercing pass.
Their first goalbound effort came in the 27th minute when Memphis Depay took a curling free-kick from a dangerous position. The visiting goalkeeper Inaki Pena, who is currently on loan from Barca, was up to the task and parried the ball away.
Galatasaray carved open a chance of their own eight minutes before half-time through Kerem Akturkoglu. Eric Garcia popped up with a crucial block to deflect his goal-bound effort over the crossbar.
Barcelona made three substitutions at the start of the second half, but still could not force the opening goal. Ousmane Dembele and Adama Traore saw their efforts blocked, while Busquets’ glancing header was pushed over the bar by Pena. In the 75th minute, Frenkie de Jong slammed his effort against the post from close range. It was the closest the hosts came to breaking the deadlock on Thursday night.
Here are five Barca stars who failed to make their team proud against Galatasaray in the Europa League:
#5 Memphis Depay
Vying with an in-form Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for a place in the team, Memphis Depay needed to produce something special against Galatasaray to win Xavi’s faith.
He drew a couple of fine saves from Pena on Thursday night, but that was as good as it got for him.
He regularly dropped deep to fetch the ball but lacked the ferocity to carry it into the packed Galatasaray box. Depay lost possession 14 times and completed only one of his seven attempted crosses.
The Dutchman’s influence waned in the second half and he was eventually subbed out for Aubameyang in the 61st minute.
#4 Sergino Dest
With Dani Alves not included in the squad for the Europa League, Sergino Dest got another opportunity to shine in a crucial knockout round fixture.
Except for a poor tackle that opened up space for Akturkoglu in the first half, he did fairly well at the back. Unfortunately, he provided precious little going forward.
Against the Turkish outfit, Dest lost five ground duels, gave away possession 14 times, and failed to produce even a single key pass or an accurate cross. A forgettable outing from the young right-back.
#3 Adama Traore
Barcelona winger Adama Traore has been impressive since securing a loan move from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the January transfer window.
He brings some much-needed directness into the Blaugrana’s attack, often making a tangible difference. On Thursday, too, he packed plenty of pace and aggression in his game but lacked the all-important end product.
Traore’s pace kept Patrick van Aanholt on his toes, with the Spaniard barely breaking a sweat to beat the Dutchman.
The Wolves loanee completed all seven of his attempted dribbles on Thursday night and won nine of 10 ground duels. His distribution, however, was far from ideal.
He completed 19 passes with 67.9 percent accuracy, misplaced nine crosses, gave away possession 19 times, and did not provide a single key pass.
The forward also attempted only two shots, neither of which were on target. The winger was ultimately taken off for Luuk de Jong in the 80th minute.
#2 Nico Gonzalez
Since taking charge of Barcelona at the end of 2021, Xavi has focused on promoting young academy players.
La Masia graduate Nico Gonzalez has been playing regularly since Xavi’s appointment and has tried his best to live up to his coach’s expectations.
Last night, the 20-year-old got the opportunity to start in an important European knockout fixture, which, we believe, he was not ready for.
He often looked clueless about his role on the pitch and roamed about aimlessly. The youngster neither contributed to the attack nor did he help out at the back.
Gonzalez simply passed the ball about in the middle of the park with no end product. Having lost three duels and squandered possession six times, he left the pitch for Sergio Busquets at the start of the second half.
#1 Ferran Torres
Ferran Torres was arguably the Catalonian outfit’s worst player on Thursday night.
He was careless in possession, did not put pressure on the opposition, and rarely popped up in dangerous areas.
The former Manchester City man looked overwhelmed by the physicality of the visiting team. He was outmuscled easily, lost possession cheaply, and did not register even a single shot on the night, let alone keep one on target.
Before being subbed out for Dembele at half-time, Torres lost four duels, ceded possession 10 times, and completely only eight passes with 61.5 percent accuracy.
A massively underwhelming outing by one of the brightest talents in Spain.
